Mysterious Space development blog & updates.

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0.4.x

0.4.6
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UI
--
* When gamepad buttons are referred to in text, they are now done so using a
colored button image, instead of a plain-text letter.
* When you pick up an item, a message on the top of the screen tells you what
you picked up.
* Changed the "static" visual effect (given by certain Alien Artifacts). I'm
still not pleased with it, but it is a touch better, I think.
* You can now delete saved games by pressing DEL or gamepad Y from the Continue
menu.
* "Save & Quit" now returns you to the title menu, instead of quitting
entirely.
Enemies
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* Swarming Sirrah have been completely reworked. They no longer give points, or
have a chance to drop loot, and they are now ONLY found swarming around
pick-ups (fuel crystals, crates, and upgrade parts). To be clear: they aren't
found around ALL pick-ups. Just some. An interesting side-effect: since
swarms give off so many bubbles when in a liquid, finding fuel and other
items in lava and ocean worlds is kind of fun(ny) :P
Equipment
---------
* Added a new equipment type: Accessory! (Would like a better name for these.)
You can only have one Accessory equipped at a time.
* New "Alien Integrater" Accessory grants a temporary shield whenever you use
an Alien artifact.
* New "EMP Channeler" Accessory fires a ring of bullets when under the effects
of EMP. Higher level EMP Channelers may have shorter cooldowns between
firing, fire more bullets, fire stronger bullets, or have bullets which
bounce off walls or pass through walls.
* New "Weapon Booster" Accessory passively increases the fire rate of all
weapons by a percent, but also decreases the recharge rate of shields by a
(smaller) percent.
* New "Phase Shield" Accessory grants invulnerability when you press X or CTRL.
Higher-level Phase Shields may grant invulnerability for longer, or allow you
to activate more frequently.
* New "Engine Booster" grants increased speed as long as you hold X or CTRL,
but disables weapons while boosting, and for 2 seconds afterwards.
* New "Last Resort" can be activated to destroy every enemy and enemy bullet on
screen, at a cost of Hull damage. (P.S. Invulnerability DOES protect from
this!)
* Added five new bullet graphics for weapons.
* Rainbow weapon bullets now cycle through the spectrum, instead of just firing
bullets of random colors (except for RNG guns, which remain totally random).
* RNG guns now fire random bullet graphics with each shot.
* Regenerating Armor's armor rating has been slightly improved.
* All armors have a chance to provide some extra, passive bonus. Currently
there are only two possibilities: increased weapon speed, or increasead
shield regen.
* New weapon: Vertical blaster. Fires two bullets with each shot: one up, one
down.
* Improved the math behind split blaster generation, so that the angle of the
bullets can now be precisely controlled. The angle between the bullets has
been tightened, but I've also allowed for a range of angles, so two
identical-looking split blasters might actually be different in the angle of
separation between their bullets. (I guess this is technically a hidden
stat...)
Planets
-------
* Two new rock graphics! YES!
* New type of forest world: white/golden forest
* New type of world: mining. Features totally different planet-generation
algorithm. I consider it a work-in-progress, but wanted to get it out there.
Can only be found in Sector 2 or higher.
* Lava planets can no longer be found in Sector 0.
0.4.5
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UI
--
* Restored Xbox-like controller support! This involved a change in the
libraries being used (switched MonoGame from OpenGL to DirectX, and updated
to the latest version of MonoGame while I was at it). I always worry about
weird new problems when updating a core library, like this... *braces self*
* The B button is no longer used to throw away items. Every other UI out there
uses B to back out; I'm not sure why I forgot this. SO: B now backs out of
the menu; Y now throws items away.
* Pressing B also backs out of the various New Game screens. This was pure
oversight; B backs out of all the other main menus, as well.
* The space bar, and the left and right bumpers and triggers can now be used to
change the direction you're facing while shooting. In the future, this will
probably be an upgrade you purchase for your ship, so enjoy it for free while
you can :P
* When you've been slowed by an EMP bullet, the text "Slowed" flashes in the
upper-left HUD. (P.S. German for "Slowed" is "Verlangsamte"!? Whoa.)
Enemies
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* Increased the health of the upgraded Carpeting Celbalrai.
* Improved how all enemies handle the wrapping levels: Swimming Sheliaks,
Trailing Talithas, and Four-way Fomalhauts will no longer turn away from you
when you cross the "seam" before they do; Aiming Altair now aims correctly
when you're on the other side of the seam from it. Swarming Sirrah swarms
still get broken up if they happen to cross the seam, however. (Their math is
weirder. It's a low-impact edge case, anyway.)
* Upgraded Four-way Fomalhauts now spend less time being stationary.
* Forgot to mention a change in 0.4.4: the sizes of Swarming Sirrah swarms now
increase as the game goes on.
Planets
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* Created a new terrain texture for ice worlds.
* Removed the old ice world biome, and created two new ones (one using the new
texture).
* There are now "abandoned space stations" on some planets... kind of >_>
They're more like gray boxes that just kind of are there and aren't special
in any way... I'll expand upon these later, but I wanted to get them in, even
just as boxes, to at least get us thinking about them.
Alien Artifacts
---------------
* The Alien Artifact that adds a temporary shield no longer ALSO restores your
base shield to full health. (I forgot to remove this effect when I reworked
the Alien Artifact.)
0.4.4
=====
This update has two major code changes, which largely have to do with GREATER
PRETTINESS, but also affect gameplay a little.
First - and having no real gameplay effects - I've made a custom particle
effect system. I'm currently using for new weather effects on planets. (And the
starfields, but you probably won't even notice any differences there.) I'm sure
I'll find more uses for it in the future!
Second, I've done a ton of refactoring of the planet-generating code, making it
easier to customize the different planet types... and then I started
customizing! Some of the changes are minor - such as the jagged surfaces of Ice
worlds, or the smoother surfaces of Desert worlds - but others are more
significant, such as the addition of water to Forest worlds, and lava to
Desolate/Barren worlds. As with the particle effects system, this is something
I'll definitely be taking advantage of in the future: Jungle worlds, abandoned
outposts on planets, or levels that are space stations (surrounded by empty
space) instead of planets at all; many things are now possible!
Planets
-------
* Added a fourth rock graphic... (Woo. Rocks. So exciting >_>)
* Reworked stars on planets to use new particle effects code, as mentioned. I
also took the opportunity to also make these stars slightly colorful, and to
fade out completely as you enter the planet's atmosphere.
* Forest planets now have watery areas.
* Barren/Desolate planets now (sometimes) have lava-y areas.
* Ice planets have more jaggy surfaces, slightly-straighter tunnels, and,
often, falling snow! SNOOWWWW!! :D
* Lava planets have been given ashes. (Can you keep a secret? The ashes are
just "snow" thats falling upwards, and is grey-black instead of white :P)
* Desert planets are largely unchanged; their surfaces are a little smoother
than before.
Enemies
-------
* Added a new enemy: Crawling Carinae. It travels along walls, and is equipped
with a slow-firing RNG gun with rubberized bullets.
Character Creation
------------------
* Created a couple new ship history stories, edited old ones, and added new
words that can be used by them.
0.4.3
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UI
--
* "Continue Game" menu now scrolls (previously, the list would run off the
bottom of the screen)
Mechanics
---------
* When a slowing effect ends (such as one inflicted by an EMP bullet), the
slow now tapers off, instead of abruptly ending. This gives a smoother feel.
It also, incidentally, makes slows last a little longer.
Equipment
---------
* Shields can no longer be "doubled" for a duration. Instead, shields can gain
an extra, temporary shield. Damage dealt to a ship is dealt to its temporary
shields before its regular shields. Temporary shields cannot be regenerated.
If an effect attempts to give a temporary shield when one is already present,
the greater shield replaces the lesser one (rather than the two being added).
Finally: temporary shields are not lost between levels.
* Reactive Armor has been reworked. Rather than granting a shield regen rate
buff when hit, it now grants a temporary shield when hit. The temporary
shield's strength is equal to 1/3 the strength of your shield. It can do this
once every 10 seconds. (For some reason, I made the Reactive Armor "smart",
in that it won't use its ability if you already have a temporary shield of
equal or greater strength... "That would be nice of it," I thought to myself,
except: how could you take any armor damage if you already had an existing
temporary shield?? (P.S. You can't. Soooo... >_>))
Alien Artifacts
---------------
* The Alien Artifact that doubles your shield for a short time has been
reworked. It now gives you a temporary shield equal in strength to your
shield!
0.4.2
=====
Planets
-------
* Lava planets are now more-likely to have non-basic weapons; armors found on
lava planets are now 1 level stronger
* Planets are now 2 tiles taller, and the bottom two rows are now always solid
terrain (instead of bottom one). This is to ensure that the minimap does not
get in the way of a Fuel crystal, forcefield generator, etc.
Equipment
---------
* Armor strength now grows logarithmically: low-level armors are about the
same strength as before; high-level armors are weaker. (This may be
revisted, as higher-level monsters are added to the game.)
* EMP weapons now permanently disable any forcefields they hit.
* Two new bullet types: knockback, and penetrating. Knockback bullets knock
back stricken enemies; penetrating go through walls.
Enemies
-------
As you progress through the sector, old enemies are now often be replaced by
"higher-tier" versions. These are similar in appearance and behavior, but
stronger in various ways.
* Added a second-tier Swimming Sheliak. It is tougher, deals more damage, and
explodes into more bullets.
* Added a second-tier Four-way Fomalhaut. It is tougher, deals a little more
damage, moves faster, and makes two shots when it rests, rather than one.
* At greater depths, MORE Dashing Denebs are spawned, but their individual
power remains constant.
* Whether or not Trailing Talitha leaves a trail of fragmenting bullets is now
dependent upon the sector: below 7, the trail is never fragmenting; at 7 and
above, it is always fragmenting.
* Added a second-tier Carpeting Celbalrai, which is tougher, and equipped with
a bi-di weapon.
* Enemies are spawned more frequently in later sectors.
Logs
----
* Added, removed, and changed some Log texts
0.4.1
=====
Version 0.3.4 contained such a visually-significant change, that, in
retrospect, I probably should have called it 0.4.0. SO: I'm'a pretend I did :P
which makes THIS release 0.4.1.
Fixes
-----
* Your points once again blink red when you cannot gain points
* You are no longer stuck firing your weapon during the "Sector Complete"
sequence (pewpewpewpewpewpew...)
* Fixed a typo in the changelog description for 0.3.4
Enemies
-------
* Aiming Altair's weapons are now always EMP weapons
Water and Lava
--------------
* Added two new planet types: Ice, and Lava
* Shields don't regenerate while in lava; regen speed increasing effects will
allow them to regenerate, but at a slower speed
* Things now move more slowly when in water, and even MORE slowly while in lava.
This applies to the player, enemies, and all bullets.
* Added bubbles, emitted by enemies and players while under water or lava
Sector Map
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* Tweaked the positioning of various UI elements
* Added a preview of the currently-selected planet
0.3.4
=====
The majority of these changes came about after doing a let's play of the game
with my friend Stephen, a game designer at Amazon. He was able to identify a
lot of problems, a few I was already aware of and/or had become blind to, but
a few I was not. Perhaps most-significant is the new system for handling items
the player collects, something we came up with together based on an issue
Stephen identified.
I also, after looking over my notes, realized that the entire HUD could be
redesigned. So that happened.
Fixes
-----
* Your weapon no longer gets stuck firing during the tutorial
UI
--
* Completely redesigned the HUD; the black bars on the top and bottom have
been removed, allowing you to see more of a planet at a time
* Added a mini-map! Planet maps are remembered between visits
* EMP weapons now explicitly state that they deal no damage
* Newly-found ship parts are now "unidentified"; even the type of part is
secret. They may be identified (for free) when on the Sector map.
* After leaving a planet, the inventory screen is pulled up if you have any
unidentified items
* When leaving a planet ("Sector Complete"), enemies and bullets are frozen in
place (no more getting shot or rammed during "sector complete"!)
* Changed the visual effect of sensor blackouts
* When you use a Alien Artifact for the first time, a description of its
effects are displayed on-screen for a couple seconds
Planets
-------
* The very bottom row of the planet is now always solid terrain
* When a sector has two planets, the planets are now always of different types
Equipment
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* Halved the damage of fragmenting weapons' fragment bullets
* Doubled the rate of fire of "Angry" armors and shields; slightly reduced
their capacity
Enemies
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* There is now an initial, semi-random delay before the first enemy is spawned
(no more starting a level to have an enemy ram you before you're even ready
to think about moving :P)
Misc
----
* Removed possibility for gray player ships (full-health gray hulls looked
empty, especially next to white armor and shields)
* Added green as a possible player ship color
Internationalization
--------------------
* Translated more strings to German and French